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Final, Celtics 109-96 Celtics get a big win by whipping the Lakers in the fourth quarter by outscoring the Lakers 32-24 while Rajon Rondo finishes with 16 assists, 15 in the second half. He makes the Celtics go. Kobe Bryant finished with 41 points and no assists.

Fourth quarter, 1:29, Celtics 105-91 The Celtics played perhaps their best quarter of the season and are close to a big win in Los Angeles. Rajon Rondo has 10 points and 14 assists while Ray Allen has 21 points. Paul Pierce has 32 but did most of his heavy lifting in the first three quarters. Kobe Bryant has 41 points and no assists.

Fourth quarter, 4:02, Celtics 98-87 The Celtics go on a 7-0 run with two buckets by Kevin Garnett and a three-point play from Glen Davis. Rajon Rondo has 11 assists in the second half after just one in the first half. Garnett has 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Fourth quarter, 5:19, Celtics 91-87 Well Kobe Bryant decided to put his imprint on the quarter with seven straight points and Los Angeles is on a 7-2 run to make this game much more uncomfortable. Paul Pierce has just two points in the period.

Fourth quarter, 7:14, Celtics 89-80 Celtics made an early-quarter run and are trying to get some defensive stops. They are still making silly mistakes, evidenced by 16 turnovers to the Lakers' 6. Kobe Bryant has yet to put his blueprint on the quarter and you know that's coming.

End of third quarter, Celtics 77-72 The Celtics controlled that quarter and it could have been more if Rajon Rondo had made some better decisions. He definitely doesn't seem to be himself. Paul Pierce scored 14 points in the quarter and has his fourth game of the season with 30 or more points.

Third quarter, 1:56, Celtics 74-70 Things are physical and testy at Staples Center as the officials are calling the game tight and the Celtics, as usual, believe they aren't getting many calls their way. After one assist in the first half, Rajon Rondo has five in the quarter while Kevin Garnett has 10 points and 11 rebounds in 25 minutes. Shaq has five fouls and Perk has four.

Third quarter, 5:40, Celtics 66-62 Paul Pierce and Kobe Bryant are going at it. Pierce has 28 and Bryant 25. Pierce has three 3-pointers and is 9-for-15 from the field. Paul Gasol has 12 for the Lakers.

Halftime, Lakers, 54-50: Los Angeles ends the half on a 23-10 run with Kobe Bryant taking over the game. The Celtics need more from Rajon Rondo, who has one assist while Shaquille O'Neal and Kendrick Perkins have two points in a combined 23 minutes. Lakers need to get the ball out of Kobe's hands. He has 22 points.

Second quarter, 2:28, Lakers, 44-42: Los Angeles on a 13-2 run with seven of those by Kobe Bryant. The Celtics' offense is stagnant and Rajon Rondo has not brought his "A" game with just one assist in 16 minutes. Bryant has 15 points and Lamar Odom has eight.

Second quarter, 5:53, Celtics, 40-33: The Celtics are dominating the boards (18-9), a lesson learned from the Finals. And Paul Pierce has 12 points for the Celtics while Ray Allen has nine.

Second quarter, 8:32, Celtics, 36-27: The bench, especially Nate Robinson, has sparked the Celtics, who have scored 14 points in the first 3:28 of the period. Glen Davis probably just got a Tommy point for his rebound of his miss and putback. Celtics are shooting 58 percent.

End of first quarter, Celtics, 22-21: Lakers end the quarter on a 5-0 run and have the momentum and the Celtics hit two of their final six shots of the quarter. Andrew Bynum has seven points and two rebounds while Paul Pierce has 10 points and three rebounds.

First quarter, 3:04, Celtics, 18-14: Boston has already missed four free throws and the Lakers inserted Lamar Odom to provide some spark and he just scored on a streaking layup that prompted Doc Rivers to call a timeout. Celtics are 7-for-12 from the field with four turnovers. Lakers are 5-for-16 with one turnover.

First quarter, 6:25, Celtics, 12-9: Kobe Bryant and Ray Allen each have two fouls and the Celtics are making an early emphasis of hitting the boards. Paul Pierce already has six points while Bryant has 5.

First quarter, 10:45, Tied at 2: Andrew Bynum and Ray Allen each hit two free throws and there is a definite playoff intensity here.